Senator Mark Kelly revealed for the first time in a Father’s Day interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that his father was violent, describing a childhood incident when he ran barefoot to his grandparents’ house at 3 a.m. to get help for his mother and twin brother.
“I was six minutes older,” Kelly explained in the interview, which airs Sunday. “I was assigned, you know, the duty to run to my grandparents’ house.” When Tapper asked if he remembered running, Kelly said yes, recalling the desperate sprint: “I remember running with like no shirt and shorts and no shoes at 3:00 in the morning down Pleasant Valley Way all the way to my, where my grandparents live.”
The distance, which felt immense to a young child, was actually two or three miles. When Tapper asked if he was running to save his brother and mother, Kelly confirmed: “Yes. To get help. Because he might hurt them. Yes. I mean he was violent. Yes, he was a violent guy.”
Kelly’s father, Richard Kelly, was a retired police officer. The senator has previously discussed his experiences with trauma and violence, but this marks the first time he has publicly detailed such a specific childhood incident involving his father’s violent behavior.
The revelation comes as Kelly has long emphasized the importance of fatherhood in his own life. “The most important job I’ve ever had is being a dad to my two daughters, Claudia and Claire,” Kelly has said. His approach to parenting stands in stark contrast to his own childhood experiences, reflecting a deliberate effort to break cycles of violence and trauma for the next generation.
Kelly’s willingness to discuss his childhood trauma publicly aligns with his advocacy on issues affecting families and children. The senator has been vocal about gun violence and its impact on families, issues that have personal resonance given his wife Gabby Giffords’ experience as a shooting survivor.
The Father’s Day special also features conversations with other senators, including Tim Scott and former Senator Mitt Romney, as they discuss how their relationships with their fathers shaped their own approach to fatherhood. The special edition of State of the Union with Jake Tapper airs Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN.
Sources
- CNN Transcripts — Full transcript of Mark Kelly’s interview with Jake Tapper on The Lead, June 17, 2026, featuring Kelly’s account of his childhood and running to his grandparents’ house
- CNN — Announcement of Father’s Day special featuring Mark Kelly, Tim Scott, and Mitt Romney discussing fatherhood and their fathers
- Facebook (Captain Mark Kelly) — Kelly’s statements about fatherhood and his daughters Claudia and Claire
